With IFA 2026 opening in Berlin tomorrow the early indications are that the show could be a particularly important show for the appliance and consumer electronics industry.

ChannelNews Editor April Ossington and I are on the ground this week at IFA to bring you the latest news.

The dominant themes are AI moving into real products, robotics, Chinese brands pushing further into markets such as Australia and Europe, and appliance manufacturers trying to demonstrate that AI actually delivers something useful rather than simply adding an AI badge.

IFA says more than 1,900 brands will participate across the five-day show.

IFA management is heavily promoting robotics.

Its IFA Next innovation area is expected to have around 300 exhibitors, with what organisers describe as the largest number of humanoid robots the show has featured.

For the appliance industry, the discussion is shifting from robot vacuums towards robots performing multiple household functions.

One official session is titled Robots in the Kitchen and Home: From Task-Specific Tools to Humanoids and examines cooking, cleaning, mobile assistants and integrated robotic appliances.

This potentially makes Mova and Ecovacs and the growing collection of Chinese robotics businesses particularly interesting.

Robot vacuum brands increasingly need another growth category, and IFA provides a platform for lawn care, pool cleaning, window cleaning and potentially more ambitious domestic robotics.

Appliances are becoming an AI battleground

Samsung has been very coy with Australia journalist not invited to their media event this year.

Interestingly, IFA itself has scheduled a session called: “AI in the Kitchen: Helpful, Hype, or Harmful?”

Miele technology executive Dr Stefan Breit is among the participants.

That tells you something about where the industry discussion is heading: manufacturers increasingly have to demonstrate why consumers actually need AI in an oven, refrigerator or washing machine.

What’s crystal clear is that Chinese brands are becoming impossible to ignore

This could be one of the more important underlying stories for Australian retailers.

Chinese manufacturers represented roughly a third of the IFA 2025 floor according to IFA management and the Chinese presence is again expected to be substantial.

IFA Global Markets is also explicitly focusing on manufacturing and sourcing from China, Korea and Turkey, along with pricing, retail requirements and global sourcing.

That matters because the competitive battle is no longer simply Samsung, LG, Bosch, Miele and Electrolux.

You now have Hisense, Mova, TCL and Ecovacs at scale, alongside rapidly expanding Chinese appliance and robotics companies.

Hisense already has an official IFA press conference scheduled for September 3, the day before the public show opens.

TVs may not be the biggest story this year

IFA historically generated major television launches, but increasingly the big TV technology announcements occur at CES or at manufacturers’ own events.

The more interesting issue could be whether RGB LED/MiniLED technology moves downmarket and whether Hisense and TCL use Berlin to broaden the technology beyond the ultra-premium products shown earlier in the year.

That would have much greater implications for JB Hi-Fi, The Good Guys and Harvey Norman than another 100-inch demonstration television.

Audio is getting substantially bigger

Management at the Berlin show now have a dedicated audio and are is significantly expanding in 2026, covering headphones, speakers, soundbars, DJ equipment and lifestyle audio.

This is worth watching because audio has become increasingly fragmented.

Traditional premium audio businesses are competing against Samsung/Harman, Chinese manufacturers and consumer electronics companies capable of bundling audio into broader ecosystems.

AI is also entering headphones and earbuds through translation, transcription, adaptive ANC and assistants, which is expected to be another recurring IFA theme.

Health and wellbeing is emerging as another major category

GFU, one of the organisations behind IFA, has made Health Tech, Wellbeing and Longevity the subject of its major 2026 consumer research.

Its argument is that health technology is moving beyond specialist devices into mainstream consumer electronics, wearables and connected-home products.

That could make smart rings, watches, sleep technology, beauty products and AI health monitoring a much bigger part of IFA than previously.

PCs will again be dominated by AI

Acer has an official global press conference on September 2, while Lenovo, ASUS and other PC manufacturers are expected to use Berlin for their second-half product refreshes.

The question this year isn’t whether notebooks contain AI hardware. Increasingly they all do.

The issue is whether manufacturers can finally demonstrate applications that persuade consumers to replace perfectly functional three- or four-year-old notebooks.

Security

Security Company Reolink is expanding its multi-lens security camera lineup at IFA 2026.

The primary showcase highlights the expansion of the OMVI Series alongside subscription-free local AI technology.

The Company is also is introducing a completely wire-free, battery-operated, and solar-powered addition to the OMVI line.

It features SyncTrack technology to stitch a 180° panoramic view with a 360° pan-tilt lens.

Also on display is their premier 24MP triple-lens camera boasting 16x optical zoom and the Companies on-device, subscription-free AI platformthat allow local NVRs and cameras to learn specific space dynamics.